Twilight Twitches

Dear Family,
So, what do Judy Fisher, Rosemary Guerin, Ann Murry, Chuck Wobby and Armando Rodriguez (grilling “grates,” get it? grate), Frank Krauser, (czar of frozen procurements), Connie Reed, Liz Siegle, Jeanette Harris and grandson Christian, (Imagine! - a young guy who does dishes,) Carolyn and Bob Dentz, Loretta Polizano, Frances Salerno, Noelle McInery, (I hope I spelled that right), and Sue Schierer (the Ice Cream queen) all have in common? THEY THROW A PRETTY GOOD PARISH BARBEQUE/ICE CREAM EXTRAVAGANZA! Annie was there in spirit because Cynthia represented the ‘front office’ very well.

Dear Family,
So how are things going while Annie is away? Actually, I don’t know because as I write she hasn’t left yet. Nevertheless, by the time you read this I hope she is having a good time and a good rest away from the merry-go-round of broken pipes and termites and A.C. fuses and Geiger beetles (not just any ordinary beetle.) You are forbidden to contact her by email, text message or smoke signals.

...And to ensure that she will really have a good time, I am telling you now that things are going absolutely fantastic. Of course, I add not so fantastic as they would be if she were here, but fantastic nevertheless! That’s my story. I’m sticking to it, and that’s the story all of you will tell her upon her return. Capichi?

Dear Family,
First, my thanks to Annie for “guest-twitching” the last two weeks. I thought both of her reflections were really good and if you didn’t read them you can go online to the parish website and catch up. < www.stsebastianfl.org > (If you don’t put “fl” in the address you’ll get St. Sebastian in Akron, Ohio, a wonderful parish if judging by their website means anything.)

Last Sunday, I quoted Jeanne-Marie Guyon, a 17th century French mystic. At the risk of grossly oversimplifying, a mystic is someone who develops a very focused way of living which recognizes a basic truth about human nature. As the Catholic Encyclopedia says, “There is in our soul a capacity for more truth and perfection than we can ever acquire through the knowledge of created things. We realize that God alone is the end of man, that in the possession of God alone we can reach the satisfaction of our aspirations.”

My dear Sisters and Brothers,
“At that time Jesus exclaimed: I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones.” We hear these words from Matthew at the beginning of the Gospel this weekend. They always seem to bring to mind a wonderful memory for me.

Way back, I think it was in 1979, I had the privilege of babysitting my godson, Kevin, and his little brother, Christian, for a weekend while their parents and older sisters attended a wedding. Kevin was 5 and Christian was 3. I decided we’d go to Colohatchee Park on Sunday afternoon, before the family returned to pick up the boys. So, equipped with drinks, balls, wipeits, and all sorts of other necessary items for dealing with little boys, off we went.